Sunday, April 8, 2018

The “Second Civil War” Controversy

There is much controversy around an article appearing at a website called Medium, written by Peter Leyden and Ruy Teixeira. That article is entitled:
The Great Lesson of California in America’s New Civil War
You may want to read it for yourself. Famously, the CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, has recommended this article and many say that is all the proof needed Twitter has an anti-conservative bias.

I’ve read the article and what strikes me is the authors’ advocacy of one party rule, basically for the whole country. For a quick primer on how that works out, see the decades when Mexico “enjoyed” one party rule under the PRI or Japan under their version in the post-war years or even China under the Communists.

As they point out, in one party states decisions are made within the power corridors of the ruling party, and merely ratified in the rubber-stamp legislature. What they don’t mention: corruption and cronyism tend to be rife and pervasive, That certainly describes the state of play in, for example, one-party New York, where the next stop after Albany is often prison.

Perhaps I should write a rebuttal entitled:
The Great Lesson of Texas in America’s New Civil War
Texas seems to be the place getting much of the internal migration and many of the jobs. TX does well because of its policy choices, CA does well because it is pretty and has a marvelous climate.

Which of those can other states usefully imitate? Right in one, it’s TX. You're stuck with the geography and climate you've got; OTOH policies can change to be more welcoming to people and business.

Later ... CA may get away with crap policies because it is clement and pretty. In the same way a beautiful woman can get away with being a bitch, many will tolerate rudeness and greed from her.